Squashed

OpenOffice.org has cross-bred a keyboard and a mouse and...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:51:34 -0500

OpenOffice.org has cross-bred a keyboard and a mouse and released it into the market. I believe the target market is gamers and OpenOffice.org users.

I bet they’ll sell dozens of these suckers.

Who exactly is Rep. Anh Cao, the Republican who voted for health care reform?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:18:41 -0500

Who exactly is Rep. Anh Cao, the Republican who voted for health care reform?:

Other than my new hero.

"The reason why the Democratic victory in New York’s 23rd is a mixed blessing is simple: it increases..."

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:35 -0500

“The reason why the Democratic victory in New York’s 23rd is a mixed blessing is simple: it increases the odds that the Republicans will not do Democrats the great favor of committing suicide between now and the next Election Day.”

- Frank Rich - The Night They Drove the Tea Partiers Down - NY Times

The Stupak Amendment

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:33:00 -0500

As a recap for anybody not paying attention, two important things happened last night on the healthcare bill. Most significantly, it passed the House of Representatives. And only slightly less significantly, pro-life Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak’s amendment passed. It bars the use of federal affordability credits to purchase any health insurance plan that covers abortion. The amendment passed on a 240 to 194 vote. The bill itself passed by 220 to 215.

For full disclosure, I would have voted for the Stupak amendment if given a chance—but a lot of people on the left are outraged. I can understand disappointment at the amendment—but outrage seems a bit misplaced. Compare the amendment’s margin of victory to the margin of victory of the bill itself.

Health care reform has popular support. So does some sort of public option. And, like it or not, preventing the taxpayer subsidy of abortion also has popular support.

catbus: This is a great cartoon.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:14:27 -0500

catbus:

This is a great cartoon.

So one Republican representative voted for the bill. Would it be tasteless to start talking about...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:19:51 -0500

So one Republican representative voted for the bill. Would it be tasteless to start talking about the “bi-partisan House health care bill” just to infuriate the right?

House passes historic health bill

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:14:39 -0500

House passes historic health bill:

And a Republican voted for it. Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).

What Good Is a College Education?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:10:04 -0500

Earlier today Mills quoted Charles Murray on the topic.

“First, we will set up a single goal to represent educational success, which will take four years to achieve no matter what is being taught. We will attach a large economic reward to it that usually has nothing to do with what has been learned. We will urge large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability to try to achieve the goal, wait until they have spent a lot of time and money, and then deny it to them. We will stigmatize everyone who doesn’t meet the goal. We will call the goal a “B.A.””

Mills adds,

Charles Murray in an arresting piece on America’s absurd, outmoded, socioeconomically cruel university system (thanks dad!). While at Bard I’d not have understood his points; my time at LSU illustrated his thesis: for many students, the B.A. is an artificial goal, often unattainable and usually unrelated to their subsequent careers; it is, in most cases, a token reward for waiting and surviving in the back of the classroom for a few years while sinking deep into debt. Perhaps its primary function is to communicate that one was able to afford not to work for some years: a class badge.

Jhn Brssdn agrees with Mills and adds,

This chimes with my thoughts over the past couple of days regarding the graduation ceremonies being held at my university, which can all be filed under: how much I hate all the crappy pomp and ceremony that goes with higher education and academic achievement. The caps and gowns; the bowing and scraping; the letters after the name. Mills and Murray articulate exactly what I couldn’t put my finger on: the divisive, constructed and class-based nature of it all. Having worked at a university for five years, I find myself wondering more and more what it would be like were we to remake “higher” education outside the medieval frameworks that still imprison it, and outside the artificial scarcities imposed by capital and copyright.

With respect, I disagree. But I think Mills and John raise some issues worth discussing.

First, is it sensical for a society to encourage as many people as possible to dedicate themselves full time to education for so many years? I think it does. Do we have anything better to do with a bunch of talented 18 to 22 year olds? A century or two ago, we might have dedicated them to farming—but we currently have more food than we know what to do with. We could dedicate them to making stuff—but we have more stuff than we know what to do with. In the U.S. any problems of want are problems of distribution, not of supply. Higher education is a good schtick, if you can get it. Prioritizing education does not come at the cost of anything more pressing. (Or, put differently, we’re not ignoring a heap of injustices because we care too much about education. We’re ignoring them because we care too little about injustice.)

Second, is a college education worth anything? Actually, let’s rephrase that—because I don’t think Mills, John, or I are talking about the kind of education where you learn useful things. I don’t think either of them would object to somebody spending four years learning to be a doctor or an engineer. Nor am I inclined to defend a “college education” that amounts to four years of sleeping through class and binge-drinking while Mom & Dad foot the bills. I’m not a fan of sloth.

I think we’re talking about the classic Liberal Arts education you get at a school like Bard (for Mills) or Williams (for myself). I learned a lot of things in my four years at Williams. I read Ulysses. I took a class on hyperbolic three-manifolds. I took a class called “Hierarchies in International Relations and Critical International Political Economy.” I wrote a bunch of poems. I learned some Latin. Let’s stipulate that I’ll never actually use any of these things for any practical purpose. This isn’t strictly true—but it’s close enough.

What’s gained by dedicating the entirety of four years to such a random assortment of seemingly-useless topics? Are graduates simply four years older and a hundred thousand dollars poorer? They certainly didn’t learn to fix a leaky roof. They probably didn’t even learn any of the skills they’ll need in their first or second job. But perhaps they learned something about creativity or communication. Perhaps they learned to connect things that are worth connecting or question things that are worth questioning. Perhaps they learned to solve problems faster. Perhaps they learned to question their assumptions or their place in the world. And if the problems of the next decade require different tools than the problems of the past decade, perhaps they’ll be better equipped to handle them. Maybe knowing a bit of history will keep us from repeating some mistakes. Maybe studying mathematics will teach us to approach problems more rigorously. Maybe studying literature will help us learn about human motivation. Perhaps studying another culture will help us see the limitations of our own. And, perhaps by throwing all of ourselves into a field we love, we’ll learn something about ourselves, about what we want to do, and about why we want to do it.

We know that increased literacy and basic education bears tangible fruits in other countries. An educated populace is good for a country. Of course, by the end of middle school, we should know how to read, know enough math for most purposes, and know enough civics to cast a ballot. Is there a point where further education is simply self-absorbed wankery? If there is, I don’t think we’ve reached it.

Third, is a college degree class badge? Of course. But I don’t think we should hold that against it. An iPhone is also a class badge. So is a really nice car. None of these things are just class badges. People spend a lot of money on them because they consider them valuable. But, as class badges go, a college education is remarkably egalitarian. The best schools in the country also have the best financial aid packages. Access to the best education increasingly has more to do with what you’re capable of and less to do with who your parents are. I think you would be hard pressed to find a more culturally and socio-economically diverse community than some of the elite colleges. Nor do I think you can find an institution that contributes more to the push against social stratification.

"I am not a great outdoorsman."

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:24:45 -0500

““I am not a great outdoorsman.””

- Congressman Barney Frank, who was present while police busted his partner for growing pot.

Jeff Miller adds,

The quote is his excuse as to why he was unaware that his partner was growing pot. Yes, he expects us to believe that it takes a great outdoorsman to know what pot looks like.

I wish Frank had said: “It’s absurd that pot is illegal. It’s just a plant, for crying out loud.” But instead of saying something reasonable, he said something ridiculous.

It’s funny that Frank’s excuse is that he is not a great outdoorsman, while Sanford’s excuse was that he was a great outdoorsman.

"What we know about eating animals is that we don’t want to know."

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:32:17 -0500

“What we know about eating animals is that we don’t want to know.”

- The New Yorker: Should you eat meat? (via marco)

I’m not a vegetarian for any uncompromising principles. I don’t mind that meat comes from animals, that these animals were killed for the meat, or even that some amount of suffering is necessary for the process. animals die, that we eat them, or even that there is a certain degree of animal suffering is incidental to the process. Death is part of life.

But the industrial farming and slaughter process is a mess of unnecessary cruelty in which I am not comfortable participating. I cannot reconcile my core belief that we’re in some ways responsible for taking care of the earth and the creatures on it with the realities of the confined animal feeding operation and the slaughter mill.

After the shooting...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:25:08 -0500

…comes the frenzied search for missed clues. Was he angry? Did he wear black? Had he lost a girlfriend? Has he ever written angsty poetry? Was he a racist? Did he like violent video games? Did he listen to the wrong kind of music? Shouldn’t we have seen it coming?

Perhaps it’s reassuring to think that one thing definitively caused a tragedy. Perhaps we don’t want to think that the human mind can sometimes, simply snap.

Pandering to the perceived middle doesn't work.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:04:12 -0500

Many political strategists seem to think that a rough gubernatorial election in New Jersey will make vulnerable Democrats waffle on supporting healthcare. If somebody is going to vote against any Democrat who voted for the healthcare bill, there’s a pretty good chance that they’ll vote against any Democrat period. So a Creigh Deeds style healthcare waffle would be a pretty brain dead thing to do. But our politicians do a lot of brain dead things, so I wouldn’t put it past some of them.

If a congressperson genuinely opposes a bill, they should vote against it. Or maybe they should sublimate their wishes to the clear wishes of their constituents. Being passionate and genuine will get you a lot further than having somebody in the media label you “centrist”. Democrats lose a lot of elections for being lame. And there are few things more lame than trying to place yourself smack in the middle of an imaginary spectrum.

"It’s almost laughable to think that heavy metal bands like Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:22:06 -0500

“

It’s almost laughable to think that heavy metal bands like Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine have a moral authority on national security issues.

They’re worried about torture of hard-core terrorists? This is really something I would expect to read in The Onion.

”

- Liz Cheney, responding to NIN’s Trent Reznor and others releasing a string of statements condemning the use of music for torture at Gitmo. (Thanks for finding this, Vruz)

Yes. Yes it is laughable. And yes, you would expect to read it in the Onion. Somehow Nine Inch Nails has the clear moral high ground. The U.S. government’s moral authority somehow slipped briefly below Trent Reznor’s. But Liz Cheney seems to be reacting the wrong way. Rather than asking how we got to this spot, she seems to be insisting that we’re in a spot that is so absurd it can’t possibly exist.

Socialism in action

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:06:53 -0500

Socialism in action :

azspot:

At Thursday’s tea party march protesting government-run health care, a participant suffered a heart attack about 20 minutes into the proceedings. As Dana Milbank reports, medical personnel from the Capitol physician’s office rushed over, attaching electrodes to the man’s chest and giving him oxygen and an IV.

The Capitol physician’s office, unlike the bills being considered in Congress, is actually socialized health care. Government employs the physicians, and taxpayers help pay their salaries. But despite the presence of so many committed free market activists who so deeply fear the consequences of government-provided health care, no one stopped the bureaucrats from treating the protester nor developed a market or volunteer-based solution.

It may have saved his life, but it cost him his soul.

You think the healthcare bill is massive? You should have seen the large print version they sent the...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:51:00 -0500

You think the healthcare bill is massive? You should have seen the large print version they sent the AARP to get its endorsement.

Report: AARP To Endorse House Health Bill - CBS News

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:02:46 -0500

Report: AARP To Endorse House Health Bill - CBS News

The Obama slide in New Jersey and Virginia

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:56:00 -0500

In the 2008 election, Barack Obama won 57.27% of the votes in New Jersey. Yesterday, his approval rating among voters in New Jersey was only 57%. So in New Jersey, it looks like Obama’s Presidency faces a serious threat from media rounding.

In the 2008 election, Barack Obama won 52.63% of the vote. In yesterday’s election, his approval rating in Virginia was only 51% among voters surveyed. It seems that either Obama has lost an entire 1.63% of the vote or voter turnout among Obama’s supporters was down. Or maybe some voters on the far left would vote for Obama over a conservative but don’t approve of his centrist policies. Either way, we could be looking yesterday’s election sent an unambiguous message. Or something.

"When asked in September whether he considered himself a “Barack Obama Democrat,” Deeds..."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:01:35 -0500

“When asked in September whether he considered himself a “Barack Obama Democrat,” Deeds demurred. “I’m a Creigh Deeds Democrat,” he said.”

- McDonnel Takes Virgina Governorship

As Deeds learned an “Obama Democrat” is the kind of Democrat who wins elections. A “Creigh Deeds Democrat,” apparently, does not.

On the list of places to go for election insight, Twitter ended...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:49:06 -0500

On the list of places to go for election insight, Twitter ended up just above cable and just below men’s room graffiti.

Connecting the dots on last night's elections

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:07:47 -0500

A Democrat beats a Conservative in a traditionally Republican district in New York, due in part to the Conservative’s failure to understand local politics.
A moderate Republican beats an unpopular Democrat in New Jersey for governor.
A Republican gubernatorial candidate beats the Democrat in Virginia by a lot.

If you connect the dots, what picture do you get? A triangle! But, if you squint at it enough, and use your imagination, it could be anything.